The Juan Soto Mets/Yankees Saga Is Equally Fascinating As It Is Exhausting

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Juan Soto's first few months in Queens have not been a breeze by any means. Troll or not troll, no matter what side you're on I think we can all agree that something is off here. Ask even the most level-headed Mets fan and they'd admit they envisioned this going smoother. Getting this headline in May of his debut season with the Mets is special.  

Now as entertaining as this all is, I'm exhausted by the Yankees aspect of it. At least the part that harps on what went into Soto choosing the Mets over the Yankees. I don't care anymore! It's fucking May. Hell, I was tired of it the moment I found out he was signing with them back in the winter. We get it, his family mattered a lot and mama Soto wanted an expense account for her clothes. It is what it is. Sure there was resentment and anger initially, but once the sweepstakes were over it was time to move on. He's the enemy now and you gotta deal with it. The Yankees quickly pivoted by bringing in Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, and Paul Goldschmidt to try and build a championship team for 2025 and beyond. So far all three of those guys have contributed and helped the Yankees build this early AL East lead. All is good at the moment in Yankee land, albeit with plenty of time to go here in the regular season. 

This past weekend Soto returned to the Bronx, but this time as the villain. The Yankees played a great series and honestly could have walked away with a sweep if DJ's line drive with the bases loaded wasn't hit directly at Juan late in Saturday's game. Or if Boone managed the game like a normal thinking person, but that's neither here nor there. Soto's return created some great theater. I was in the building for Sunday Night Baseball, and anytime he stepped to the plate it was a moment. Watching Fried dice him up was awesome. 

The icing on the cake was Bellinger's grand slam just clearing Soto's out-stretched glove in right to seal the game and the series. 

It was a bad weekend for Mets fans who so desperately wanted to shove the fact they have Soto down our throats. Instead we got the better end of this battle and naturally there was some trolling online afterwards. That led to Mets fans saying this was Yankees' fans World Series and that we cared way more than they did about a series in May. Blah blah blah we all know that's total bullshit and if Soto went 6 for 12 with 3 homers this weekend that's all they'd talk about, clowning Yankees fans every step of the way. There's nothing wrong with being happy about a series W against a good team, and Soto's addition to the spectacle of the Subway Series adds some extra juice. 

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These days people try to make anything a story, so Soto's body language was closely examined all weekend. Who was he chatting with? Does he look happier chopping it up with Boonie and Judge? Does he look mopey? Are we getting a shuffle? Will there be an uptick in energy? Dude was under the biggest microscope during those three games. That led to the Klapisch article about him ducking reporters, putting on weight, and being overall miserable as a Met. Michael Kay said some shit too. The New York media smelled blood in the water from the weekend and turned it into a feeding frenzy. Clem broke it all down here. The way I see it though, even if he looks sad out there, isn't hitting for power, can't find a hole with RISP, is noticeably not as "enthusiastic" while playing the game, and is seemingly trapped being a Met, who cares? What good does that do for me outside of the Klemmers and Meek Phils of the world beginning to squirm as they realize this isn't going as smoothly as they imagined? The dude signed a 15 year deal there. That's it. There's no trading him after this season. He's locked in as a Met for a long fucking time. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to assess that he's not having typical Juan Soto success through the first two months of the year. But guess what? His numbers are still solid. Are they $760M solid? No, but before you know it he's gonna be above a .900 OPS. The team has won a bunch of games despite him not being comfortable out there on the field. Mets fans just gotta breathe. This isn't Lindor territory when he was going through it. 

Alright maybe not Frank. 

Him struggling and being out of sorts is great, but again every time I hear something about his mom or a new behind the scenes nugget about the signing, I honestly just don't care. Miss me with all of it. Not my concern anymore. 

Now that being said, the post-game interviews last night were fascinating. This stuff is fun. For the second straight game Soto didn't hustle around the bases, this time costing the team a double in Fenway as his hit went off the monster. Mendoza called him out for it. 

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But when Soto was asked to comment he said he has been hustling pretty hard. Quite the opposite assessment. 

Not the best look to be that off on communication. Perhaps Soto was used to Boone defending every play through thick and thin, but Mendoza decided to acknowledge the lack of hustling. Either way it's just another hiccup in this rough start to being a Met. That certainly won't stop the media avalanche. Let's hope it gets worse for entertainment purposes. 

P.S. You almost have to respect this man's delusion.